Stitching and Job Hunting

For those of you who do not already know, we were trying to buy a house about an hour south of here so that I could keep my old job and Dan could keep his. Well, we went down there and found some really nice places - four bedrooms, more than two baths, finished basements, etc. We were giddy with the anticipation of moving out of our little townhouse in Baltimore and giving the girls and the dog a proper yard, and us some proper space for an office, craft room, a real guest room (rather than having guests sleep in Sissy's daisy themed bedroom), etc. Giddy, I tell you! Then we met with Mark the Mortgage Guy. Dum, dum, dummmmm. We're not moving. Mark told us, in a perfectly cheerful and optimistic tone, that we had been approved for the new house. Yay! Then he told us what we would need to come to the table with for closing. This was within our realm of possibility. Yay! Then he told us what our monthly payment would be. Excuse me? Could you repeat that? Seriously? You have got to be kidding... Our new payment would be more than what we are paying here - we expected that. We were expecting it to almost double, and we had planned accordingly - we were going to have to be a little less cavalier about going out to eat and a little less generous at Christmas and on birthdays, which would be fine because we have a tendency to go overboard on gift giving occasions (see my Mother's Day post). No problem. But wait a minute. What was the total payment again? Ummm...it is TRIPLE our current mortgage. After we politely got off the phone and commenced puking with the stress, we had a conversation. Without boring you with all the gory details, let's just say that we will be staying here for at least another year. Our old, little townhouse never looked so good! It is quaint, well-painted, in need of some updating in the all-important kitchen and bath areas, and it is affordable. We are staying put. End of story.

That, of course, throws a kink into my "keeping the old job" plan. I had to call my principal and let him know that, although I love my job there, I cannot fathom a 90 mile commute each way every single day with a baby in the car. He expressed his disappointment and support and I cried. I really, really liked that school, and I am going to miss it. Honestly, I don't have a lot of time to reminisce. I must find a job. All of the schools have already hired most of their staff for next year. I quickly put together three application packets and sent them to Baltimore County, Baltimore City and Howard County Public Schools. I sent these off last Wednesday. On Friday, Howard called me. Today I had my preliminary interview with Danielle from Human Resources. I already have my second interview, with the Director of Language Arts for HCPS, scheduled for Thursday. I am a hot commodity, people of Baltimore County and City. What's the matter with you??? Better step it up, yo, or you will be losing out on a good thing. Snap.

Ok, time to morph into my goodie-two-shoes stitching persona. I actually got some done this week. Let it be said that I never, ever claimed to be the fastest stitcher in the world. Slow and steady, right? Jeez, I hope I get faster than this. Anywho, here is my progress on my three WIP's.

The Petal Fairy. Can you see how it looks like a fairy sitting on a poppy stem? Can ya?

Here is Summer Stack - every time I work on this I marvel at how easy it is to work on. So why isn't it done yet???

And here is Chatelaine's mystery sampler. The stitching on it is really hard to see. I personally think I should have used a lighter fabric, but this is the one she recommended, and as I have never done one of her pieces before, I trust her judgment. The rest of the colors are more vibrant, and will show up much more clearly. I hope.

Teasers for next time...moon bounces, twins, Abster's favorite new toy and A Child was Born.